Little Busters! Rewind
by Takagi Akito
Summary: A short side story about Kyousuke's past before he formed the Little Busters; a tale about the relationship between his little sister and himself, how he grew into the reliable leader, and finally how they met everyone else.
1. First Act

Komari, would you listen to my story?

Seven years ago, at this very same date and place, I decided to change. Things were pretty rough for me back then; I wasn't who I am until I found out that I definitely couldn't stay the way I was forever.

This is a story about me,  
>The relationship between my little sister and me,<br>and then it would lead to the story of how we met everyone else.

Don't fall asleep, okay?

Good… Take it easy. Just stay like this, make yourself comfortable, and listen. Don't worry, I will keep it simple and to the point.

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><p><strong><em>Little Busters!<em>**

**_~Rewind~_**

A fan-fiction story by Takagi

Edited by PRONTO3000

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><p><strong>Reminiscence Chapter, First Act<strong>

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><p>At the edge of the snowy cliff, stood a young boy. It was a lonely hill in the middle of the town that is surrounded by mountain, so hills like this one were quite a common landscape. Around this year, the stream, creeks, and forest animals and trees still existed, much more than nowadays' condition where the human needs strive for more resources and lands, eating up every elements of the nature without considering what drawback could happen in the future.<p>

However, in 6 or even 8 years later, the hill stood still, unlike some of the trees in the forests that were reduced down, or another hill that were erased from the map to create a straight line of road and railways. Of course, the atmosphere that time is much fresher and livelier than today. This hill was, and is, his favorite place in town, because from the very hill the auburn-haired boy could see the whole town he had lived in for almost 11 years. But that does not constitute the main reason why he loved the place. That was not the reason why he would come here in the last week of December, when the area was much colder than ever either.

No, he is not a stray. He is a well-behaved boy and his name is Natsume. The Natsumes had lived in this town for time out of mind – centuries, probably – and the town folks respect them highly. By the way, as for the term respected, it rhymes perfectly with the boy's first name, Kyousuke, which means respect. The Natsumes originally came from the land of Kyoto, which is located miles away, but as the years go by, they finally arrived in this town and had lived here ever since.

So, why would our respected young Natsume come up all the way to the tip of the hill in a freezing snowy December evening? Before answering that, we can't overlook the fact why he was alone at such place with gloomy mood lurking in his heart. This would also bring us to the morning of one week before the winter break, when the school had ended for that day. It was a usual after school scene where the students - elementary students – scattered around the school. What made it different were the conversations between them. Right, Christmas was only 1 week away, so everyone is talking about how they would celebrate the day. It was a happy day for them after all. It's only normal to look forward to the annual special day.

On the other hand, things were different for Kyousuke who had to pick his one-year younger sister, Rin, in her class. It was no less mentioned before; he had to pick her up. It was his daily task given by his parents. The older Natsumes were very strict to him when it now comes to the matter of his sister. Only God can predict what waits for him had he failed to heed his parents' objectives. He didn't want to get any of those in that day, hence the prompt picking up.

When he got to the door of her class, he just waited there until the girl notice her, which only took a few seconds. The moment their eyes met, Rin quickly stood up, put on her winter coat and marched to her older brother. Then, it was all done with no words in their greetings or even on their way home. It was not true that they don't want to, but because they don't feel like they need to. Their cold relationship had been going on since Rin entered the second grade. To him, Rin was just there because she existed. He could not even care less as to what happen to her and neither the silent Rin. In addition to his spiteful animosity towards his own little sister, was his parents' unfair favoritism towards him. For example, when both got a perfect mark on their exams, all the compliments and praises all went to the little one. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change this unbalanced treatment. It's not like he hates her though, he just couldn't stand how she got all those unwanted delights much more overwhelmingly than his.

It's not like Rin herself was very excited about them though. Rin, being as silent as Kyousuke, talked less than normal girls around her age; she feared other beings, especially adults. She did not pay much attention to her surroundings and prefer to sit down at the corner of the classroom, keeping herself away from the crowds. You could say that this is also the same reason to why they seem in a distance from one another despite being a sibling. Rin was… ah, that's right. Rin's older brother was also a loner. He didn't even seem as his current self. If you compare the two figures of the same person, you'd think them as two distinct person. Kyousuke was considered a child prodigy in his school. He was respected by every student – or maybe, way too respected that the admiration itself evolved into fear. That means, although their relationship was ice rigid, sadly the Natsume sibling only have each other by their sides.

The seconds they went through without talking – and just walking – turned into minutes, and they finally reached their house. The Natsume residence shared a similar look as the other houses at the peaceful neighborhood, but has a classier look on it. Instead of Japanese, they adapt the Western's exterior shape, even though the interior still maintained the comfortable Japanese style.

Kyousuke turned the doorknob open and entered. There was no need to knock or greet because there was nobody at home at this hour. He had used to this kind of routine. The only time for the kids to meet their parents was during breakfast and rarely, during dinner or supper, even on the weekends they still don't communicate much as they prefer to rest. So it's only normal for him to head to his room upstairs everyday when he got home from school, right after he walked through the entrance and corridor.

*blam*

He shut the door; quick as lightning he grabbed a book from his bookshelf; a swish sound of the bed followed after. This was no ordinary book. It was his favorite book. The contents were drawn into interesting storyboard, which flows nicely per-scene from pages to pages; it's a book called manga or a comic book. Most manga serve for entertainment purpose and our little Kyousuke grew very fond of them. It was his beloved grandfather who introduced them to him on the summer a few years back and since then, manga has been his only source of happiness, as well as inspirations. He'd sink himself in the imaginary world, to such extent that he'd ignore his surroundings and would be extremely mad if something draws to disturb his concentration.

The sun had already set, but he didn't care. Until the clock strikes 7 – which are dinnertime for the Natsumes, he wouldn't come downstairs. By dinner, it would only be her sister Rin and himself. However, it was just happened that by some curious chance, their parents came home earlier than usual on that day. It only happened occasionally, so he should be grateful when the time comes; that if he's a normal kid. Well to be frank, there's a glimpse of those feeling inside of his cold, young heart.

"Kyousuke. Rin," said the mother. "We have good news for you."

They didn't usually engage a conversation after feasting the dinner, let alone something about good news.

"We are going to take you two to the zoo."

"…Zoo!" Unexpectedly, Rin broke out from the ice. More than anything, she loves animals; that's probably the reason why she was so excited that she almost jumped from her chair.

"Hm? You don't seem to be interested, Kyousuke." This time, it's the father who spoke. "Don't you like the idea of going to the zoo? Is there any other place you want to visit?"

Kyousuke could hear a sigh from the sulking Rin, who's sitting next to him. He took a glance at her and realised that it would disappoint her if they were to change the destination of this rare opportunity to come together as a family.

_Well, no matter what I said, it won't change their mind_, he whispered in his mind. "No. Zoo is fine."

"Then zoo it is," he reacted.

"Also," the woman added. "Later on at 24th of December, we will go to the festival at the square."

"...!" This time, they successfully piqued Kyousuke's interest. "You mean, the Christmas Eve festival?"

"Yes!"

This was one of very few times you'd get to see him smile like a kid of his age would do and it appeared somewhat refreshing to the couple. Finally, they would enjoy a day together with their kids. It was only because by some odd chance they got a break for that Christmas in that year. Therefore, they were able to plan a recreation with their children for the first time since forever.

"I am looking forward to it. Mom, Dad," said the grinning eldest child.

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><p>「つづく」<p>

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: This fic tells you a bit about Kyousuke's life before he formed the Little Busters. Of course since it is a fan-fiction, by all means, it will not be really connected to the canon's plot. Well, so far, I couldn't find bits, glimpses, or even a fanart of his life back then before LB so I had to explore it, then expand it with my own brain by considering every possibility that could make this story interesting.

Just to tell you, I may not look like it, but I'm VERY serious in making these series my masterpiece; heck if I'm not, I won't be dwelling in this fandom that only has few readers and the word counts won't reach that much (which is my biggest number so far). I fully agree to Kyousuke's quote that _when a guy have decided to do something, he will do that seriously_. However, I'm still a newbie writer, despite having written in this site for almost 3 years. I'm not being humble (put a _you don't say_ meme here), so please, if you ever had any thoughts about this story after reading it, no matter how small or harsh it is, don't be shy to put them in the review box for your contribution will become part of history.

It's like Komari's circle of happiness. You will make me happy by giving me (critical, or any kind of) feedback, and I (hopefully) can beatify you using this fan-fiction which you've put your review to. ENDLESS LOOP!

But of course, like any normal authors, I can't tolerate flamers and scammers. We, LB fans, are intelligent beings, I believe.

There you have it. I will also do my best to this small fan-fiction. I hope you enjoyed chapter 1.


	2. Second Act

~Rewind~

Second Act

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><p>The siblings woke earlier than usual on the next morning, for they had gotten so excited over the plan their parents told last night. Kyousuke, for instance, had been humming happily since the moment he opened his eyes until he met Rin in front of his room when she happened to pass by.<p>

Her reaction was taking a distance from him after a quick moment of gaze towards her older brother. It's how she always acted whenever they met, so Kyousuke couldn't careless about it.

But that day, instead of just ignoring her existence, he greeted her.

"Morning," he said nonchalantly.

"…"

No answer came from Rin's lips. She was just shyly averting her gaze from him. At this point, Kyousuke was no longer interested in her and he made his way to the stairs and then to the dining table.

"Good morning, Kyousuke."

"Morning, Mom."

She replied with a happy smile. It was not visible to Kyousuke who had just come since she was still preparing the meal.

"What's for breakfast?" he asked as he slid his chair to have a seat.

"We'll have tamagoyaki, and spinach salad!"

On the table, were already served a bowl of steamed rice and another bowl, which contained miso soup; it's nothing special - these are typical Japanese set for breakfast.

Kyousuke had already used to have them in the morning.

A brief seconds after Mrs. Natsume had distributed all the food, Rin came and joined her brother for breakfast.

"Good morning, Rin."

"Mor…ning…" she replied timidly.

Then, the woman took off her apron, which concealed the front area of the formal clothes she's wearing. "Dad is already waiting in the car. See you later, Rin, and Kyousuke."

Just like that, she left the sibling at the dining table.

The parents were employees of a certain company; they had to go earlier than the kids on weekdays.

Kyousuke had already used to this morning routine. Actually, it was slightly better that day because he got to see the mother. Usually, they only met a piece of paper, or a letter, on the table together with the served meal.

_"Itadakimasu,_" Kyousuke said before he digged in, even though it was not really necessary to say that word of manner since Rin had already started first.

He didn't expect a reply from Rin or any kind of interaction with her; Kyousuke had already used to eating with just her own sister in silence.

A few minutes after that, the sibling finally went to school.

…

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><p>They dispatched from each other the moment they reached the courtyard, heading to their respective classes.<p>

Without a word spoken...

If someone really looked at, or _observed_ them, he or she would definitely feel sort kind of pity because in the age where they should be having fun the fullest, the Natsume sibling was rather gloomy compared to other children.

Of course there are some people who wondered about them and even asked what's going on, but his answer was always the same: 'We are fine,' If not, then it's gonna be another words of assurance like 'don't worry' or something along the way that held the same meaning.

The circumstances between the two were irregular, but Kyousuke didn't mind because he had already used to it.

To Kyousuke, these _problems_ were just trivial matters; not even make it to be a nuisance to him.

Because he had already used to it.

…

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><p>At first, school that day went on as usual for Rin: Homeroom, lessons, lunchbreak, lessons, homeroom, and afterschool.<p>

But this day was actually a bit different for her.

First, she had P.E. class.

Second, she was on the class duty so she had to stay longer than her classmates who weren't scheduled on the same day.

These meant that she would have to interact with her classmates and that was uncomfortable for her. That's why off all days, Tuesday was her least favorite.

That's not all. That particular day was special for her.

It happened after school ended when she was cleaning the classroom with another 4 students. Or that's what it was supposed to be.

"Natsume, could you clean the classroom by yourself today? Umm… I must go home early today because I have to help my mom at the store…"

"Me too! I'm actually feeling a bit under the weather today~"

Rin was very irritated, but their reasons seem important to them.

"Ah, don't leave us alone!" the other two students followed the first two who's intended to leave after taking their schoolbags.

"_Oi, oi. Aren't you a bit harsh to Natsume this time? You stay!_"

"_Well, she is not against it and she never tells Tsukitei-sensei… right?_"

_"Well, that's right…"_

***Bam***

Just like that, the numbers of the cleaners were reduced to 1.

It was hard on her. This kind of bully happened many times in the past. Seems like her classmates were taking advantages on her silent, antisocial traits. Sadly, she couldn't do a thing about it. She had to endure the feelings of being betrayed and bear with the tiring class duty, all with the small body of hers.

Being alone in the classroom in a cloudy afternoon of a winter day was certainly not a good experience. It was intimidating for her.

She could cry.

She would love to cry her heart out.

But all she could do was bit her lips while holding back her tears and swept the floor as she was supposed to.

Rin was not okay with being bullied, but she had already used to it, even though it was indeed hurt.

…

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><p>Meanwhile, the older brother was walking out of the school. Every Tuesday, which was Rin's class duty, he visited a certain place to kill the time. It was a hill that stood behind the school. Not so many people came there, especially not in this season.<p>

He went deeper to the forest, went up, up, and up until he arrived at a glade and then the cliff.

This had been his secret favorite place in the town for a long time.

From there, he could see the town square, which was filled with the preparation for the upcoming Christmas festival that lasted 2 days straight from the eve.

He was really looking forward to it this year because he's finally able to go together with his family. He imagined that it would be much better to go together like everyone else instead of just by himself as usual, even though he's pretty distant with his parents and sister. It would be a new experience for him.

He peeked at his watch to make sure that he still had some time to kill.

"Good. I still have some time."

Then, from the cliff, he walked to the nearest tree, laid his back, and slid his body down.

He immediately jumped the moment his body made contact with the ground. "Wah! Just as I thought, it's cold!"

_But somehow, it's comfortable…_

He would've been asleep if it wasn't for the sounds of steps that were coming closer.

_Who? _Kyousuke thought. He then sneered from behind the tree's trunk to take a look.

It was a blond boy, seemed like he was also a student, an older student. By looking at his uniform, Kyousuke knew that he was a middle school student even though his face looked older than most of middle-schoolers. He then observed him a bit more and found out that he was bringing something with him.

_A drawing book?_

_Ah, our eyes met._

The boy smiled brightly before he greeted the auburn haired boy.

"Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon," he replied awkwardly to the rather friendly stranger.

"It's rare to see anyone here!" said him softly as he walked closer. "Actually, this might be the first time!"

_'It's rare to see anyone here', huh? Does that mean…_

"So you come here a lot?" Kyousuke said.

"Yes. It's such a nice place, isn't it?"

_Howcome I never met him before?_

The conversation went on hold as he looked for a place to sit. "Ah, here is good."

Then, he sat at a tree for about one meter from him.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked the boy.

"Nothing," Kyousuke answered. "I'm just killing some time to wait for my little sister doing her class duty."

"Ah is that so?" he smiled. "Well this is a good place to do that!"

He pulled out his drawing book, "as for me, I'm doing this."

"I can see that. You're also bringing your pencil and crayons after all," Kyousuke said.

"Ahaha~ but it doesn't seem like I will use the crayons today though~ well then, if you excuse me…" he opened the book and find an empty page to draw.

He stared at him drawing skillfully. He couldn't see the drawings but from the way he moved his pencil, the blond seemed like he had done this very frequently.

"It sure is nice to have a hobby," Kyousuke muttered.

"Eh? You don't have any?"

"Not in particular… Well, I am very fond of reading mangas though."

"Ahaha~ who doesn't?" he giggled. "Mangas are also picture books after all."

"Are you drawing manga?"

"No. This is more like a children book… hehe. Manga is too complex for me~"

"Oh," Kyousuke brought his mind off a little to think. "Do you have someone who listens to your story?"

"Yup! My cute little sister!"

"I see… you're also an older brother, huh?"

_But he is so different from me. The fact that he writes his sister a story means that he's very close with her. Is that how an older brother should do after all?_

"What is it? You don't look so happy… you also have that expression when you're telling me about your little sister. Are you two in a quarrel or something?"

"No we are not."

"… I guess I shouldn't pry any deeper…" he said as he continued drawing. "But you know… you should treasure her."

"What? Why?"

He turned his head at Kyousuke, showing his kind, gentle smile. "Of course because she is your sister."

"Because she is your little sister, she may live as long as you do. Don't you want to have a good relationship with the one who may live with you for the rest of your life?"

Kyousuke understood his point there. It was implied in his words that parents would _leave_ sooner than siblings would and that when the time comes, siblings would be the trustworthiest companions he could have for the two were tied by blood.

_What he said is actually makes sense. _

"I suppose you are right." Kyousuke gave a grin.

"Right?" he beamed.

"By the way, what are you drawing? May I see it?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. It's not finished yet!"

Before he clasped the book, Kyousuke managed to peek at the page. _There are a lot of circles there. I wonder what he is drawing._

"I see," Kyousuke said. "Your sister will surely be happy."

"She loves my stories!" the blond boy looked down to his book after he exclaimed, "but… she cried the last time I told her. That's why I'm going to give her a happy one this time!"

Kyousuke grinned.

"Ah, it's about time. See you later!"

Just when he was about to take his leave, the boy called him. "Hey!"

"What's your name?"

"I'm Natsume!"

"OK! You seem like a good boy, Natsume-kun. I'm sure we can be good friends! Let's meet again tomorrow here, at this place! Ah, I'll also bring my sister! She's around your age, I'm sure she would love to be your friend!"

"_Yosh!_ Gotta go! See you Onii-san!" In a hurry, he left the boy.

Later on, Kyousuke regretted heavily for not asking his name because it turned out that that was the last time the two met.

…

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><p>Kyousuke spent more time to climb down the hill than when he climbed up. He couldn't help but to worry about Rin. He rushed to Rin's class the moment he reached the schoolyard. It only took him a few minutes to get to the class.<p>

He opened the door, and instantly saw the sillhouette of a single longhaired girl that was created from by the orange sun's light that was streaming from the window.

_She's alone? _

He approached the expressionless Rin, who's still mopping the floor all by herself.

"Oi… did they…?"

"…"

No answers. Just like the usual. Instead, she stopped her mopping, putting back the cleaning equipments to the locker that was in the class, and then grabbed her bag.

"Are you done?"

She gave a weak nod. It's because she's tired that she gave a very weak one. Even her eyes which resemble those of a cat's looked sappy.

"Let's go home," he took her hand and pulled it, with no intention of letting go.

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><p><strong>an: I will expand this later! Thank you for reading! Special thanks to the first chapter's reviewers: maggie98, Rin Natsume, A.J.**

**I hope all of you like this chapter.**

JUST REALIZED HOW BAD MY GRAMMAR IS IN THIS CHAPTER. I'm sorry for my bad English! I will fix them if I have time!


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